Delegations - Nevermined Documentation

What Are Delegations?

A delegation is a scoped spending authorization tied to an enrolled payment card. It defines the boundaries of what an agent can charge: the maximum amount over the delegation’s lifetime, how many transactions are allowed, and when the authorization expires. Think of it as a controlled allowance: you’re giving an agent permission to spend within strict limits, rather than handing over your card.

The Visa Agentic Tokens rollout retired the previous separate “Visa mandate” object. Visa is now one of three networks (stripe, braintree, visa) on the unified nvm:card-delegation scheme, with a single create endpoint and a single record shape. Visa delegations differ only in that they require a per-delegation device-binding ceremony at create time.

Delegation Properties

All three networks share the same core fields:

Field	Description
`provider`	`stripe`, `braintree`, `visa`, or `erc4337`
`providerPaymentMethodId`	PSP-side token: Stripe `pm_…`, Braintree `paymentMethodToken`, or Visa Agentic Token `vat_…`
`spendingLimitCents`	Maximum total amount the delegation can charge over its lifetime, in cents
`durationSecs`	How long the delegation is valid for, in seconds from creation
`maxTransactions`	Optional cap on the number of charges. Omit the field to allow unlimited transactions.
`currency`	ISO 4217 lowercase (`usd`, `eur`, …)
`planId`	Optional plan binding. Required for Visa (Trusted Agent Protocol).
`merchantAccountId`	PSP-side merchant routing. Stripe Connected Account ID, Braintree per-currency `merchantAccountId`, or seller’s Stripe Connect account for Visa settlement.
`apiKeyId`	Optional NVM API key link for automatic selection
`consumerPrompt`	Visa-only: human-readable approval text shown during device binding
`assuranceData`	Visa-only: opaque blob produced by the WebAuthn ceremony

Creating a Delegation

Via the Nevermined Pay Dashboard

After enrolling a card, create a delegation from the Nevermined Pay dashboard:

Stripe / Braintree
Visa

Navigate to your enrolled card
Click Create Delegation
Set the spending limit (in dollars / euros)
Set the duration (e.g. 7 days)
Optionally set a max-transactions cap
Optionally link an NVM API key
Confirm to create

Navigate to your enrolled Visa Agentic Token
Click Create Delegation
Set the spending limit, duration, and (optionally) max transactions
Select the plan this delegation binds to (Visa requires a planId)
Optionally link an NVM API key
Click Continue to approval — the embedded Visa VTS iframe starts the WebAuthn ceremony
Complete the passkey approval (or fall back to the email OTP that VTS sends)
The webapp captures the resulting assuranceData and submits the delegation

Visa device binding is single-use and tied to the spending limit + duration + merchant context shown in the approval prompt. Changing any of those values invalidates the captured assuranceData — restart the approval step.

Visa delegation creation is webapp-only. The backend rejects POST /api/v1/delegation/create with provider: 'visa' (BCK.VISA.0014) unless both consumerPrompt and assuranceData are present, and both can only be produced by the VTS-embedded ceremony running in a real browser.

Via the API

All providers use the same endpoint and DTO. The Visa branch adds two required fields (consumerPrompt, assuranceData) and requires a planId.

Stripe Delegation
Braintree Delegation
Visa Delegation

POST /api/v1/delegation/create
Authorization: Bearer <NVM_API_KEY>
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "provider": "stripe",
  "providerPaymentMethodId": "pm_1Abc2Def3Ghi4Jkl",
  "spendingLimitCents": 10000,
  "durationSecs": 604800,
  "maxTransactions": 100,
  "currency": "usd",
  "apiKeyId": "sk-abc123"
}

Response includes a delegationId and delegationToken (the signed JWT) for the new authorization.

POST /api/v1/delegation/create
Authorization: Bearer <NVM_API_KEY>
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "provider": "braintree",
  "providerPaymentMethodId": "abc123token",
  "spendingLimitCents": 10000,
  "durationSecs": 604800,
  "maxTransactions": 100,
  "currency": "usd",
  "merchantAccountId": "seller-usd-merchant-account-id",
  "apiKeyId": "sk-abc123"
}

POST /api/v1/delegation/create
Authorization: Bearer <NVM_API_KEY>
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "provider": "visa",
  "providerPaymentMethodId": "vat_01HXYZABCDEF",
  "spendingLimitCents": 5000,
  "durationSecs": 86400,
  "maxTransactions": 5,
  "currency": "usd",
  "planId": "80918427023170428029540261117198154464497879145267720259488529685089104529015",
  "consumerPrompt": "Allow up to USD 50.00 over 5 transactions at example.com",
  "assuranceData": [
    {
      "methodResults": { "id": "…" },
      "verificationType": "DEVICE"
    }
  ]
}

The assuranceData blob is the value returned by the VGS Agentic Auth browser SDK after the WebAuthn ceremony completes. It is opaque to Nevermined and forwarded verbatim to VGS POST /intents.

Calling this endpoint with provider: 'visa' from a non-browser context will fail with BCK.VISA.0014 because assuranceData can only be produced by the in-browser ceremony. Trying to forge or replay one yields BCK.VISA.0003 from upstream.

Spending Controls

All delegations enforce multiple layers of spending control:

Lifetime Spending Limit

spendingLimitCents caps the cumulative amount charged over the delegation’s lifetime, not per-transaction. Once amountSpentCents >= spendingLimitCents, the delegation transitions to Exhausted.

Usage Limits

maxTransactions caps the total number of charges. Once reached, the delegation is Exhausted regardless of remaining budget.

Time-Based Expiration

After createdAt + durationSecs, the delegation transitions to Expired regardless of remaining budget or usage.

Card Spending Ceiling

Each card has a cumulative spending ceiling (default $10.00). The sum of spendingLimitCents across all active delegations on a card can’t exceed this ceiling. Example:

Card Ceiling	Delegation A	Delegation B	Remaining
$10.00	$5.00	$3.00	$2.00

If you try to create a third delegation for

3.00, it will be rejected because only

2.00 of ceiling remains.

Updating a Delegation

Delegations are not updated in place. To change the limit, duration, or any other parameter, revoke the existing one and create a new one. For Visa, this requires a fresh device-binding ceremony.

# 1. Revoke existing delegation
DELETE /api/v1/delegation/{delegationId}

# 2. Create new delegation with updated params
POST /api/v1/delegation/create

Revoking and recreating a delegation means any unspent budget from the old delegation does not carry over.

Cancelling a Delegation

DELETE /api/v1/delegation/{delegationId}
Authorization: Bearer <NVM_API_KEY>

No additional authentication is required beyond your API credentials. Revocation is immediate: in-flight verify/settle calls against the delegation fail with DELEGATION_INACTIVE.

Status Lifecycle

Active -> Exhausted (spending limit or transaction count reached)
  |
  |-> Expired (past createdAt + durationSecs)
  |
  |-> Revoked (manually removed via DELETE)

Only Active delegations can be used for payments. NVM Pay checks status, usage, and expiration on every verify and settle request. Each delegation tracks amountSpentCents, remainingBudgetCents, and transactionCount.

API Key Linking

You can optionally link a delegation to a specific NVM API key. This tells NVM Pay “when this API key is used, charge this delegation.” This is especially useful when you have multiple active delegations and want deterministic routing. Instead of the agent guessing which one to use, the API key determines it automatically. All three networks support API key linking through the same apiKeyId field. See Delegation Selection for the full resolution algorithm.

Transaction History

Every settled charge is recorded as a transaction:

Field	Description
`amount`	Transaction amount
`currency`	Currency code
`status`	`completed` or `failed`
`providerTransactionId`	PSP charge identifier (Stripe `pi_…`, Braintree transaction id, Stripe Connect `pi_…` for Visa settlement)
`failureReason`	Error details (if failed)
`createdAt`	When the transaction occurred

GET /api/v1/delegation/{delegationId}/transactions?offset=0

Network Comparison

	Visa	Stripe	Braintree
Create endpoint	`POST /api/v1/delegation/create` (`provider: 'visa'`)	`POST /api/v1/delegation/create` (`provider: 'stripe'`)	`POST /api/v1/delegation/create` (`provider: 'braintree'`)
Per-delegation auth	WebAuthn/passkey device binding (browser-only)	API credentials only	API credentials only
Required extras	`consumerPrompt`, `assuranceData`, `planId`	—	`merchantAccountId` matching `currency`
Cancel	`DELETE /api/v1/delegation/{id}`	`DELETE /api/v1/delegation/{id}`	`DELETE /api/v1/delegation/{id}`
Settlement	Stripe Connect against seller’s connected account	Stripe PaymentIntents	Braintree `transaction.sale` against vaulted token

What’s Next?

If you have multiple delegations, learn how NVM Pay decides which one to use for a given payment request.

Delegation Selection

How NVM Pay resolves which delegation to charge

Documentation Index

​What Are Delegations?

​Delegation Properties

​Creating a Delegation

​Via the Nevermined Pay Dashboard

​Via the API

​Spending Controls

​Lifetime Spending Limit

​Usage Limits

​Time-Based Expiration

​Card Spending Ceiling

​Updating a Delegation

​Cancelling a Delegation

​Status Lifecycle

​API Key Linking

​Transaction History

​Network Comparison

​What’s Next?

Delegation Selection

What Are Delegations?

Delegation Properties

Creating a Delegation

Via the Nevermined Pay Dashboard

Via the API

Spending Controls

Lifetime Spending Limit

Usage Limits

Time-Based Expiration

Card Spending Ceiling

Updating a Delegation

Cancelling a Delegation

Status Lifecycle

API Key Linking

Transaction History

Network Comparison

What’s Next?